Excerpts from Lexi Blake and Larissa Ione of 1001 Dark Nights

Lexi Blake and Larissa Ione join HEA to share excerpts from their novellas, both part of the 1001 Dark Nights collection.

First up, Lexi Blake introduces an excerpt from Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella, out now …

Lexi: Mitch Bradford has a reputation for demolishing his opponents in the courtroom. In his line of work, there's no time for a healthy relationship. After a few failed attempts, he knows he's not good for any woman — especially not his best friend's sister.

Laurel Daley knows what she wants, and her sights are set on Mitch. Watching him in action at work and at play, she knows he just needs a little polish to make some woman the perfect lover. She intends to be that woman, but first she has to show him how good it could be.

One passionate night together leads to unforeseen consequences and now there's more at stake than Laurel's heart and Mitch's pride. As Mitch and Laurel work to find a future together, someone from the past is ready to end them both …

EXCERPT

I'll marry you.

Laurel walked toward the exit. It didn't matter that she didn't have a ride. She would catch a bus or walk to a train station. She was not going to stay there with Mitch "I'll marry you because I have to" Bradford. He'd said the words with all the enthusiasm of a man on his way to an execution.

Pregnant. She was pregnant and Mitch knew, and now he was ready to do right by the woman he'd apparently soiled. That's how her brother had reacted. For just a moment, she'd been transported back in time to where Will was going to fight a duel over her lost honor.

She hadn't lost anything. No. She'd gained a whole other human being and all because she hadn't been able to think straight when Mitch touched her.

That was absolutely no reason to marry the man.

"Laurel!"

She settled her purse on her shoulder and ignored him. There was a train station two blocks over. She knew exactly where it was because she'd come out to this hospital many times to see Will and Lila, though she never would again because neither of those ungrateful wretches had offered her a ride. They were cut off.

Actually, it served her right to have to hoof it. It just proved that when a girl screwed up as totally as she had, she was on her own. Or she would be if Mitch would just stop pursuing her.

"Laurel!"

She kept walking. Outside, it was a glorious day. It was spring and everything was in bloom. Even her womb.

Mitch caught up with her. "Laurel, sweetheart, I'm going to give you a chance to save this. Stop now and come with me. We'll get something to eat and talk about this."

She didn't look his way. "I think I'll take door number two."

"You won't like door number two," he warned.

She was far too stubborn to care.

"All right then. Door number two it is."

Laurel nearly screamed because one minute she'd been walking and the next she was up and in his arms, being cradled against that masculine chest of his. "Hey, you can't do that. Put me down."

"Nope. This is door number two and unfortunately, I'm parked on the other side of the lot." Mitch had turned and was walking right back toward where they'd just left. "What have you had to eat today?"

She was oddly comfortable in his arms. She couldn't remember the last time a man had picked her up and carried her around, her body protected by his. Probably not since she'd been a child and Will had carried her when she'd been hurt or sick. The sweetness of it pierced her. And then she remembered the only reason he was doing it was for the baby. "You should put me down. You're going to throw out your back."

He stopped and stared down at her. "What did you say?"

Oh, that was new. He was cold, arctic cold even as his arms tightened around her. "I said I'm too heavy and you should put me down."

"That's what I thought you said." He started moving again, his eyes back up. "All right. I'm going to give you that one because I've never set rules with you. Here's rule number one. I hear you insult yourself again and there will be punishment. How do you expect to raise a girl who honors herself if her mother doesn't? How do you expect to raise a boy who respects women if his mother doesn't care about herself?"

What was happening? And when had Mitch become the voice of reason? She couldn't come up with one logical argument. He was right. "What are you doing, Mitch?"

"Setting the rules. Now answer my question. When was the last time you ate?"

Find out more about Lexi and her books at www.lexiblake.net.

Now, Larissa Ione introduces us to an excerpt from Hades: A Demonica Novella, which comes out May 26 …

Larissa: I'm so excited to be here and to be able to introduce you to Hades, known by many names including Jailor of the Underworld, and Cataclysm, a newly fallen angel who wants nothing more than to get back to Heaven.

Well, she also wants Hades, but the hot, Mohawk-headed Master of Torture seems determined to thwart her advances. Especially after he learns she's responsible for the demon uprising that is destabilizing his realm — and which could, potentially, wreck the human realm, as well.

But the two find that they need each other — not just to repair the damage she inadvertently caused, but to be free. Free of pain. Free of the past. Free of loneliness.

First, though, they have to survive the demons who want Cat dead … and the Grim Reaper, who might very well want the same thing of Hades.

EXCERPT

Everything was gray. Light gray. Dark gray. And every shade of gray in between.

Cat blinked. Where was she? Squinting, she shifted her head from side to side. She was lying down, apparently inside some sort of lidless stone box. It was a huge, about the size of a king-size bed, and like a bed, it had blankets and pillows. Who the heck slept in a giant box?

She sat up, but she was so weak that it took two tries, and as she peered around the room, her head spun.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens."

Cat turned to the owner of the voice, and she would have gasped if her breath hadn't clogged in her throat. Hades? What was he doing here? Of course, it might help to know where "here" was. "Here" appeared to be a room constructed from the same stone as the box she was sitting in. Iron sconces on the walls gave off a gloomy light, but the fire in the hearth kept the place from being completely horror movie chic.

"Where am I?" Her voice sounded cobwebby, which seemed appropriate, given that the room looked like a tomb.

"My place." Hades walked over to the far wall, where a pot steamed over the fire's roaring flames. He was shirtless today, and the light from the fire flickered over his skin, the shadows defining every glorious muscle as he went down on his heels and ladled something into a cup.

Gods, she was confused. Why was she here? What had happened? The last thing she remembered was being in Azagoth's office…no, wait. She'd gone to the Inner Sanctum to find a human. But everything was pretty cloudy after that.

She rubbed her eyes, which were as blurry as her memories. "What happened to me?"

Hades came over, moving in that way of his, like a panther on the hunt. Not even the chains on his massive black boots made a sound when he walked.

"That's my question for you." He held out the cup, which was really more of a bowl. That looked suspiciously like the top of a skull. "Drink this."

She eyed the contents as she took the bowl, nearly splashing the clear yellow liquid on her hand. It seemed safe enough, wasn't full of floating eyeballs or anything.

"Smells good," she said, as she put it to her lips. "What is it?"

"It's a healing broth. Made it myself from the skin and bones of a Croix Viper."

Cat tried not to gag, even though the liquid actually tasted decent, like spicy chicken soup. "Thank you." She tried to hand it back, but he shook his head.

"Drink it all. It'll heal the rest of your wounds."

She looked down at herself, but there wasn't a mark on her. Her jeans were dirty, and there were splashes of what might be blood on her feet, but it didn't appear to be hers, and otherwise, she seemed to be in great shape. "What wounds?"

He picked up one of several blades he'd laid out on a crude wooden table and began wiping it down with a rag. "You were pretty messed up when I found you. I have the ability to heal minor physical damage, but the other stuff is beyond my ability."

"The other stuff?" She watched him slide the blade into a leather harness hanging off a chair.

"Psychic wounds," he said gruffly. "The kind you get when an Orphmage thrusts his magic stick in you."

She drew a sharp breath. "Magic…stick?"

"Not that kind of magic stick. Seriously, you ever seen an Orphmage?" He snorted. "I figure they use their staffs to compensate for one particular body part."

She'd have laughed if she wasn't so confused about why she was here and what had happened to her. She hadn't spoken to Hades much, but she'd seen how he interacted with others, and she loved his sense of humor. He was so inappropriate and nothing like the people she'd dealt with in her sixty years of life in Heaven. She was pretty sure most angels had magic sticks up their butts.

"Maybe I could get out of this…" She looked around at the box she was sitting in. "This…um, coffin? Am I in a freaking coffin?"

"It's actually more of a sarcophagus." He grinned. "Cool, huh?"

Actually, yeah. Hades, guardian of the demon graveyard, had a sarcophagus for a bed. He really lived the part, didn't he?

He offered her his hand, which she took, relishing the hot static buzz that skittered over her skin as she allowed him to help her to her feet and out of the giant coffin. And man, his hand was big. And strong. And it made her wonder what his fingers would feel like as they caressed her skin.

Find out more about Larissa and her books at www.larissaione.com. Find out more about the 1001 Dark Nights collection at www.1001darknights.com.